Wireless Standard - How Fast Do You Want To Go?

When it comes to a wireless standard, the first thing we all look at is how fast will this baby run! And you know the trade-offs, you can spend a lot of money to get the fastest thing running, or you can back off a little and save a lot.

The good thing about wireless networks is that the price difference between wireless standards is almost gone. There are some things that could add up, but I will explain the difference and why you might want to go that route or not.

First, let me explain how transmission speed is determined.

Now, let's get to the different wireless standards you can choose from.

802.11b - 11Mbit at 2.GHz
802.11a - 54Mbit as 5.0GHz
802.11g - 54Mbit at 2.4GHz
802.11n - 100+Mbit at 2.4GHz
Hybrid Systems

What Should You Get

I was purchasing equipment for a completely new wireless setup. We only had one older wireless computer and I replaced the card in it with a new one. I did purchase a system that advertised the 108Mbit speeds since I knew who was going to connect to it.

If you are building a new network setup, I suggest you purchase a system that will run faster than the standard, but only if you know who is connecting. If not, then get a system that runs on the 802.11g standard. The price is about the same as 802.11b but runs 5 times faster.

Two manufacturers that I recommend are D-Link and Netgear. They are reasonably priced and I haven't had any trouble with these systems. If you're into brand names, Cisco makes good equipment but they are not cheap. I DO NOT recommend Linksys, although they are owned by Cisco. I had to return everything I purchased because I couldn't get any of it to work. The other manufacturer's equipment connected correctly the first time.